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This forum took place at Berkeley City College, Saturday morning, October 1, 2016. The public was invited to attend and submit written questions. The forum was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Berkeley Albany Emeryville and the League of Women Voters of Oakland, and was moderated by Helen Hutchison, of the League of Women Voters of California.

Actividades comunitarias

Board Member, Youth Alive (2015–current)

Board Member, Center for EcoLiteracy (2010–current)

Board Member, David Brower Center (2005–current)

Member, Oakland Rotary (2015–current)

Biografía

A social justice advocate, energy and climate change trailblazer, and accomplished legislator, Nancy Skinner recently completed three terms in the State Assembly representing the East Bay cities along the I-80 corridor from Hercules to Oakland. Skinner currently teaches public policy at UC Berkeley, focused on policy interventions to address poverty and income inequality. She also serves as a Senior Policy fellow at UC Davis’s Energy and Transportation Institutes.

In the Assembly, Skinner served as Chair of three key committees: Budget, Rules and Natural Resources. As Budget Chair she oversaw the largest funding boost to childcare and preschool in over a decade; increased state support to our State University and UC systems, cut the number of juveniles incarcerated in state facilities by half, and established a new dedicated fund to reduce prison recidivism.

Skinner took on the Gun Lobby, successfully passing two groundbreaking gun violence prevention measures. To get corporations to pay their fair share, Skinner authored the bill that requires Amazon and other internet retailers to collect sales tax which is now bringing close to a $1 billion a year in new revenue to support vital services for California families. An environmental and climate protection champion, Skinner carried measures that doubled rooftop solar and renewable energy.

A graduate of UC Berkeley with a BS and an MA, Skinner co-founded the labor union representing graduate student instructors and was a leader in the UC South Africa Divestment movement.

Ms. Skinner began her public service in 1984 as the first and only student to be elected to the Berkeley City Council. On Council Skinner introduced the nation’s first Styrofoam ban and co-founded an international association of cities, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. After her term on the City Council, Skinner served as Executive Director of ICLEI’s US office and International Director of ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection program which engaged cities worldwide to take action to stop climate change.

Skinner is a past member of the East Bay Regional Park District Board, a former small business owner and an advocate to increase women in elected office. She served on the Board of the East Bay Women’s Political Caucus and launched the statewide Women in Power Pac (WIP Pac) to support Democratic women.

Skinner and her husband, a retired city employee, are 40 year residents of Berkeley, her daughter Sirona and her wife, Sinead, live in Richmond. Three of Skinner’s eight brothers and sisters also live in the East Bay along with many nieces and nephews.

Creencias poliza

Filosofía política

Assemblymember Nancy Skinner's Top (10) Legislative Accomplishments

Summary

As an Assemblymember, I took on a number of key issues, most notably income inequality, ending corporate loopholes, gun-violence prevention, climate protection, education, criminal justice reform, and environmental stewardship. Please see this details of my key legislative successes below.

INCOME INEQUALITY

Income Taxes on the Super Rich – AB 1130. My bill, AB 1130, the “Reagan, Wilson Share the Wealth Measure” restored income tax rates on millionaires to the rate they were under Republican Governor’s Reagan and Wilson. The California Federation of Teachers fought for these tax rates to be in Prop 30, which increased Prop 30 revenue by over $2 Billion a year.

Hungry Free Kids Act –AB 402. Children in our free/reduced price lunch program live in households struggling to make ends meet. CalFresh can help these families have access to daily nutritious meals, yet thousands are not enrolled. My bill makes it easy for these families to be enroll and receive the food assistance they need.

College Student Access to Cal Fresh – AB 1930. Low-income college students have it hard enough paying for tuition, housing and textbooks, I carried AB 1930 to give college students who were previously not considered eligible better access to food assistance.

ENDING CORPORATE LOOPHOLES

Internet Fairness – AB 155. Amazon and other Internet retailers refusal to collect sales tax was unfair to our main street businesses and kept money from our schools. AB 155 closed that loophole so sales like Amazon’s now give California close to $1 billion a year in new revenue to fund our schools and vital services.

Enforcing Workplace Safety – AB 1634. Dangerous conditions cited by California’s workplace safety regulator now have to be fixed right away, even if the employer appeals, so workers and communities aren’t put at risk.

EDUCATION

Childcare and PreSchool Expansion – 2014 Budget Bill. As Budget Chair I facilitated the largest funding increase for early childhood education in over a decade, enabling the State to enroll thousands more children in preschool and quality childcare.

Higher Ed Funding While Halting Tuition Increases – 2014 Budget Bill. Our UC/CSU systems suffered huge recession cuts resulting in student tuition and fee increases. As Budget Chair I worked for a larger state allocation to UC and CSU with language that would rescind the funds if UC/CSU increased student tuition.

Saving Energy Saving Schools – AB/SB 39. Schools spend millions each year on energy, my legislation provided every California school district Prop 39 funds to pay for energy upgrades; now money saved on utility bills can go back in the classroom.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

Foster Youth Detention – AB 2607. Foster kids get stuck in detention longer just for the ‘crime’ of not having a home, AB 2607 stopped the practice of using juvenile hall as a substitute for finding kids real homes.

Juvenile Justice – AB 999, included in 2011 Budget Bill. Guards in state juvenile facilities used ‘time-adds’ to unfairly prolong the time youth were incarcerated. Within three years of stopping ‘time adds’ the number of youth in state incarceration was cut in half.

Recidivism Reinvestment Fund - 2014 Budget Bill. Provided $100M for community services to support reentry of our formerly incarcerated; required inmates be issued State IDs and be enrolled in MediCal prior to being released; and eliminated the lifelong ban imposed on those sentenced for non-violent drug crimes from ever accessing CalFresh or CalWorks.

CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT

Doubling Rooftop Solar - AB 560. Expanded net metering so that homes and businesses could get credit on their utility bills for the electricity produced by their rooftop solar.

Electricity from Renewable Energy - SB X1-2. This bill set a 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requiring 33% of California’s electricity to be generated from solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy by 2020.

Naming Eastshore State Park after Save the Bay Founder - AC 55. Our wonderful 8.5 mile ribbon of parkland along the eastern side of the SF Bay is now named after Save the Bay co-founder Sylvia McLaughlin, a worthy recognition of her significant leadership.

GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Gun Violence Restraining Orders - AB 104. The mother of the Isla Vista shooter saw the signs that her son was dangerous, my bill established a firearm restraining order so every family now has a tool to get guns out of the hands of those threatening violence.

Biografía

Sandré R. Swanson served three successful terms as a Member of the California State Assembly. He was the Chair of the Assembly Labor & Employment Committee and was a vocal advocate for growing the middle class with sustainable jobs. Mr. Swanson also served on the Assembly Budget Committee, Sub-committee on Education Finance; Assembly Committee

on Utilities and Commerce and was the Speaker’s Appointee to the State Workforce Investment Board.

Mr. Swanson is passionate about the plight of troubled and at-risk youth. As Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color, his committee’s work is widely used by the State today in its strategies for assisting young people. As a result of this work, in 2014 Mr. Swanson was invited to the White House by President Barack Obama and was requested to participate in the President's “My Brothers Keepers “ initiatives.

During his tenure in the Assembly, Mr. Swanson passed landmark legislation dealing with the atrocities of human trafficking—which he calls “modern day slavery.” His legislative work assisted with the development of programs for job training, housing and counseling for the victims of human trafficking—some as young as 12 years old. Several of his laws are prominently referenced on the California Attorney General’s web site. District Attorney offices are using these laws across our State to successfully prosecute human trafficking criminals in California today.

Following his work in the legislature, Mr. Swanson served as Deputy Mayor for the city of Oakland, California. He worked successfully on growing the City's economy by developing small businesses and jobs. Before his election to the California State Assembly, Mr. Swanson served five years as Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Before that, he worked for 25 years as the District Director and Senior Policy Advisor for Congressman Ronald V. Dellums. He also served as Chair of the Alameda County Employee’s Retirement Association, Chair of the Oakland Civil Service Commission, and Chair of the Oakland Re-Use and Redevelopment Authority.

Early key endorsements of his campaign for the California Senate include key legislators currently representing the people of the 9th Senate district. They include the incumbent, Senator Loni Hancock, Assemblymember Rob Bonta, Assemblymember Tony Thurman and his campaigns Honorary Chair, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and more.

Mr. Swanson is a native of Oakland he and his wife Anita have four children and five grandchildren.

Por tipo:

Creencias poliza

The record will show, that as Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee and Member of the Assembly Budget Committee on Education, I worked hard to make Education California’s top budgetary priority. Thatis why the California Teachers Association (CTA) and The California School Employees Association (CSEA) have endorsed me for the State Senate. I was the leader in the fight to keep Redevelopment Agencies for affordable and senior housing because we are in a housing affordability crisis and I passed laws to reduce neighborhood crime.

I led the fight to keep the “Healthy Family Program” that provided healthcare for 740,000 poor children—and I worked for a healthy environment. The California Nurses Association (CNA) and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists support my record and have joined our campaign. I was the leader in the Assembly on protecting your pensions and retirement security. The Teamsters, SEIU, and AFSCME working families agree and are on our team. I am committed to student loan debt relief and have sponsored environmental justice efforts to stop the spraying of pesticides near schools, to stop illegal dumping in our community and support green jobs and wetland restoration. Our first responders, the City of Alameda and Oakland/Alameda County Firefighters have also endorsed me for State Senate.

I proudly led the State’s efforts to rescue our children from Human Traffickers—some children as young as 12 years old and I increased funding for wrap-around services for our most at-risk youth. I supported small business loans in underserved communities to increase employment opportunities and have been an advocate for Equal Rights and Civil Rights for everyone.

During the budget battles of the recession, I challenged those in leadership to keep the social safety net for the poor, the disabled, seniors and children.

Why I’m running for State Senate

Summary

Progressive Values For State Senate

Dear Friend,

Our community has a rich history of progressive politics and for being the conscience of California. I would like to continue that tradition and give a voice to our progressive values in the State Senate.

The record will show, that as Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee and Member of the Assembly Budget Committee on Education, I worked hard to make Education California’s top budgetary priority. Thatis why the California Teachers Association (CTA) and The California School Employees Association (CSEA) have endorsed me for the State Senate. I was the leader in the fight to keep Redevelopment Agencies for affordable and senior housing because we are in a housing affordability crisis and I passed laws to reduce neighborhood crime.

I led the fight to keep the “Healthy Families Program” that provided healthcare for 740,000 poor children—and I worked for a healthy environment. The California Nurses Association (CNA) and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists support my record and have joined our campaign. I was the leader in the Assembly on protecting your pensions and retirement security. The Teamsters, SEIU, and AFSCME working families agree and are on our team. I am committed to student loan debt relief and have sponsored environmental justice efforts to stop the spraying of pesticides near schools, to stop illegal dumping in our community and support green jobs and wetland restoration. Our first responders, the City of Alameda and Oakland/Alameda County Firefighters have also endorsed me for State Senate.

I proudly led the State’s efforts to rescue our children from Human Traffickers—some children as young as 12 years old and I increased funding for wrap-around services for our most at-risk youth. I supported small business loans in underserved communities to increase employment opportunities and have been an advocate for Equal Rights and Civil Rights for everyone.

During the budget battles of the recession, I challenged those in leadership to keep the social safety net for the poor, the disabled, seniors and children.

That’s why I’m running for State Senate.

I am respectfully asking you to join progressive champions like Congresswoman Barbara Lee, State Senate President Kevin de León, Senator Loni Hancock, Assemblymember Rob Bonta, Assemblymember Tony Thurmond and support our campaign for the California Senate.